Chapter 37: The Ferocious Dog
“Boss, is this cage sturdy enough?”
I felt a chill run down my spine. Inside two rows of iron cages, fierce fighting dogs bared their teeth and stared at me as if they had just spotted a wild beast. They all entered attack mode, and if they hadn’t been chained up, they would have surely pounced on me and torn me to shreds.
The boss, standing at the door, was also puzzled. “This has never happened before. Sir, were you a professional dog butcher before?”
“I don’t even dare kill a chicken, let alone a dog,” I replied. Although these ferocious dogs were strong and vicious, they did not meet my requirements. They seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards me, and it was clear that they could not be tamed.
“Do you have any other dogs here?” I asked, unwilling to give up. This was the largest pet dog store in the market, and if I couldn’t find a satisfactory dog here, I might as well not look elsewhere.
The boss took a sharp breath upon hearing my question and said, with great implication, “Today really is strange. Alright, since you’re already here, let me show you my collection.”
The two of us walked past the two rows of iron cages and entered a separate breeding compartment at the back of the housing.
Even before we got within ten meters of it, the hunting dogs in the compartment seemed to sense something and began to roar fiercely. Their voices almost shook the roof, and the iron bars rattled as their bodies repeatedly hit the cages with a “bang, bang” sound.
“Stay away from the cages. These dogs all have a history of attacking people. Technically, they should all be put down, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it,” the boss warned.
“Alright,” I replied. Surprisingly, I was now even more interested in buying one of them, given their sensitivity to negative energy.
As we entered the compartment, I noticed that all the cages here were reinforced, thicker, and twice the size of the ones outside.
The boss lifted the black cloth covering the cage and pointed to the first one. “This is an Italian Neapolitan Mastiff, one of the most dangerous breeds in the world. Once it attacks, it won’t stop until it kills, and it even enjoys swallowing its prey, including humans. It’s known as the most ruthless killer in the world of fierce dogs. It used to be a favorite of the Mafia; it was used to terrorize and assert power.”
The massive dog inside the cage that was barking furiously was actually as large as a one- or two-year-old colt.
“I don’t recommend buying this dog. It’s already an adult, and no one has been able to tame it since its previous owner died,” the boss said, lifting the second cage. “This is an Italian Cane Corso, originally used to drive cattle to the slaughterhouse by biting and holding them down. They’re also used for hunting large game like wild boars and have excellent agility and reflexes. They’re brave and have extraordinary toughness, often fighting to the death until they achieve total victory or death. They say the heads of the hellhounds Cerberus in many movies are modeled after them.”
“These kinds of dogs can be tamed with some effort, and they’ll become your most faithful guard. If you’re really interested, the fixed price is 30,000 yuan.”
The boss raved on about the price of 30,000 yuan, but I only had 200 yuan in my pocket at the moment and thought it was more than enough.
Unaware of my dilemma, the boss lifted the black cloth covering the third iron cage and said, “This is a pit bull, also known as an American bulldog. It weighs 30 kilograms and can beat a 75-kilogram human in three minutes. Among all ferocious dogs, it’s the most brutal and aggressive. This purebred pit bull has hurt people multiple times and has a terrible temperament, so I’ll give you a discount at 15,000 yuan. “
Noticing that my poker face was still intact, the boss uncovered the fourth iron cage and said, “This is a purebred Tibetan mastiff that a wealthy friend from Zhejiang put on consignment with me after going bankrupt. There’s video evidence of it fighting off three starving wolves without falling behind. According to the consigner, this dog is priced at 100,000 yuan.”
I licked my dry lips and thought, “Asking for 100,000 yuan for a dog, is he insane?”
“What’s in the last cage?” I asked casually, hoping to broaden my horizons.
To my surprise, the boss looked a bit hesitant and said, “The dog in this cage is actually not for sale. If you don’t like any of the other dogs, please leave.”
“Not selling it?” His words piqued my curiosity even more. “Boss, you’re not keeping a protected animal in that last cage, are you? That would be illegal.”
“How could I dare do that? Hey, if you want to see, go ahead. It’s not like it’s a good dog anyway.” He pulled off the black cloth, revealing a lazy-looking ordinary wolf dog in the cage.
“You had it hidden so well, I thought you were keeping a lion in there.” Compared to the other mighty and proud dogs in the house, this wolf dog seemed too ordinary. The boss had a wry smile on his face.
“This dog’s breed is called the Chinese rural dog, also known as the native dog.”
“We can never judge a book by its cover. If you are hiding it so well, it must be extraordinary. Tell me more,” I said. The boss looked a bit embarrassed but continued to explain. “This dog was consigned to me by a lazy Taoist priest. He was penniless at the time and offered to sell the dog in exchange for some alcohol.”
“Selling a dog for alcohol? That’s quite a carefree attitude,” I remarked as I examined the native dog in the cage. Strangely enough, while the other dogs in the house were barking incessantly, clearly intimidated by my negative aura, this native dog was calm and ignored me.
“The lazy Taoist priest claims that this dog is a Changbai Mountain guard dog. It has chased away Siberian tigers, fought against blind bears, and killed a six or seven zhang (18-21 meters) long giant snake. It grew up drinking Tianchi water and eating lingzhi herbs,” the boss said.
“Just this one did all of that?” A zhang is about three meters long. Besides the questionable existence of a snake that long, this native dog’s tail was barely over a meter long when held straight.
“Boss, you’re exaggerating a bit,” anyone with a bit of common sense would find it hard to believe.
“That’s what the lazy Taoist priest said. At first, I didn’t believe it, but then I realized this dog is truly exceptional.” The boss pointed to the other dogs beside it.
“These fighting dogs have vicious personalities and can’t be kept with other dogs, but this native dog is different.”
“One time, a store employee forgot to close the door properly, and a bulldog got loose. None of us adults could do anything, and we were about to call the police, but this native dog suddenly appeared from somewhere and let out a single bark. The bulldog obediently went back to its own cage,” the boss recounted.
“A few months ago, my daughter-in-law came to the store carrying her child, who had a high fever, and asked me to drive them to the hospital. But as soon as I brought the car out, my daughter-in-law suddenly said that the child’s fever had gone down. When we went back inside, I saw her son playing with this mongrel dog on the floor.”
“You can’t imagine the scene. This dog sat at the entrance of the store, and all the other dogs were quiet and obedient, not daring to make a sound.”
“Even more surprisingly, when we were leaving, this native dog bit onto the child’s clothes and refused to let go. We had to cut the clothes to free the child, and since then, the child has never been sick again. When we went back to our hometown for the Chinese New Year, I found out that new clothes were bought by my sister-in-law for her own child, beore he had drowned in a reservoir while playing. My brother then gave those new clothes to my children.”
“Boss, I came here to buy a dog, why are you telling me stories?” Although I believed the boss after hearing all this, as a host of the underworld show, I had to conceal my identity and pretend to be a normal person as much as possible.
The boss felt a little embarrassed and said, “I know it sounds strange, but this dog is indeed extraordinary. I’ve sold it several times, but it always manages to escape and come back to me. So I decided to keep it and provide it with good food and drinks; after all, it has done lots of favors to my family.”
“You guys are truly virtuous and righteous.” I was moved by what the boss said. Wasn’t this spiritually enlightened dog exactly what I needed?
“How much is this dog? I sincerely want to buy it. Boss, could you give me a price?”
“It’s not that I won’t sell it to you, but even if you take it away today, it might secretly come back tomorrow, wasting your effort, and then I’ll have to refund your money.”
“That’s my own business. Just name your price.” I put on an impatient look as if I was going to take money out of my pocket right away.
“The price is set by the lazy Taoist, and you have to pay this amount.” The boss extended five fingers.
“Five hundred? That’s too expensive. I think two hundred is more appropriate.”
“Five hundred thousand.”
“What?!” I turned around suddenly, and I didn’t know what I stepped on, so my body leaned and hit the iron cage next to me. The Tibetan Mastiff inside, who had already taken a dislike to me, smelled the flesh and rushed out!